30 Percent of Fans Plan on Attending Game, 48 Percent Have Watched or Listened this Season
South Orange, NJ, May 4, 2021 – In a series of experiments sanctioned by Major League Baseball, the independent Atlantic League is slated to move the pitching rubber back from 60’6” to 61’6”, and to eliminate the designated hitter once the starting pitcher has been removed. These changes have been met with modest approval by sports fans across the country, and overwhelming approval by those who describe themselves as “avid fans.”
These were the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted April 23-26 geographically spread across the United States using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. The Poll had 1,563 adult respondents with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
Changes
The Atlantic League will also experiment with other rule changes in 2021, with MLB said to be paying close attention to whether these changes increase offense. Moving the pitching rubber back is designed to give batters extra time to see a pitch, while eliminating the DH is intended to keep starting pitchers in the game longer.
The 60’6” distance was set in 1893 (moved back from 50 feet in response to a dominant pitcher) and has been used continuously ever since. The DH staying in the full game has been in use in the American League (but not the National) since the rule was created nearly a half century ago in 1973.
Both measures were met with a 41 percent approval rating from people who identify as sports fans, with 35 percent saying “no” to moving the rubber, and just 28 percent saying “no” to elimination of the DH. (The don’t know/no opinions were 24 and 31 percent, respectively).
On both rule changes, 59 percent of “avid fans” support the moves, while just 26 percent oppose them, giving the proposals a better than 2 to 1 margin in favor. In both instances, 15 percent of avid fans said they did not know or held no opinion.
Don’t Know/No Opinion Prevails for General Public
Perhaps indicative of baseball’s need to generate more excitement amongst the general public, the “don’t know/no opinion” response led the way for that group with 40 and 48 percent in favor of modifying the pitching distance and the DH, respectively. Of those who did venture an opinion amongst the general public, there was an equal 30-30 percent divide on moving the pitching rubber, and a 28-24 percent edge in favor of taking out the DH.
“Given the history and traditions of the sport, baseball fans are slow to change – the DH rule is still being argued by many nearly a half-century later,” said Charles Grantham, director of the Center for Sport Management within Seton Hall’s Stillman School of Business. “But as attendance has declined and the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement looms on the horizon, baseball in many ways is at a crossroads. Other leagues have already cashed in on some very lucrative national TV deals.”
Viewership?
The poll also asked whether fans have watched or listened to any part of a live baseball game this season. Sports fans said “yes” by a 48-46 percent margin, and avid fans said “yes” by 72-23 percent. Asked if they have watched or listened to highlights of games, sports fans answered in the affirmative by 50-44 percent, and avid fans by 72-24.
Plans for Game Attendance? 30 Percent of Sports Fans Say ‘Yes’
As for their plans on attending Major League Baseball games this year, (in the midst of a second season of Covid-19 restrictions), 50 percent of avid fans said “yes” (35 percent said no), while 30 percent of sports fans said “yes” (54 percent no). Extending live attendance to major leagues, minor leagues, school and little league, the “yes” response rose to 59 percent among avid fans and to 40 percent among sports fans. All the don’t know/no opinion responses to watching and attending questions were 17 percent or less.
Play Baseball?
Twenty percent of the general public said they had a family member (immediate or extended) who plays baseball at any level (73 percent did not), and among fans, 28 percent said they did (66 percent said they did not), and among avid fans 46 percent said they did and 49 percent said they did not.
“Long hailed as America’s National Pastime, if baseball fails to connect with a younger demographic it may find itself past its time,” said Marketing Professor and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. “MLB deserves credit for seeking ways to add greater excitement to its product.”
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Questions and charted breakdowns of responses below.
ABOUT THE POLL
The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.
Media: Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
michael.ricciardelli@shu.edu, 908-447-3034; Marty Appel, AppelPR@gmail.com
The Results:
April 2021 Seton Hall Sports Poll
This SHSP was conducted April 23rd through April 26th and includes responses from 1,563 US adults with a margin of error of 3.2%. The sample mirrors the US Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.
Q1. Which, if any, of the following statements best describes you?
- I am an avid sports fan 20%
- I am a sports fan 36%
- I am not a sports fan 44%
Q8a Have you watched or listened to any part of a live baseball game (excluding ‘highlights’) this season?
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 30% | 48% | 8% | 72% | 35% |
| No | 61% | 46% | 80% | 23% | 58% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 9% | 6% | 12% | 5% | 7% |
Q8b Have you watched or listened to any highlights from a live baseball game this season?
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 32% | 50% | 9% | 72% | 38% |
| No | 60% | 44% | 80% | 24% | 56% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 8% | 6% | 11% | 4% | 6% |
Thinking about the 2021 MLB season. Do you…
Q9a Plan on attending a Major League Baseball game this season?
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 18% | 30% | 3% | 50% | 19% |
| No | 68% | 54% | 86% | 35% | 64% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 14% | 16% | 11% | 15% | 17% |
Q9b Plan on attending any baseball games (major, minor, school, little league) games this season?
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 26% | 40% | 9% | 59% | 29% |
| No | 60% | 45% | 79% | 30% | 54% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 14% | 15% | 12% | 11% | 17% |
Q9c Do you have a family member (immediate or extended) who plays baseball at any level?
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 20% | 28% | 9% | 46% | 18% |
| No | 73% | 66% | 82% | 49% | 76% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 7% | 6% | 9% | 5% | 6% |
Major League Baseball is working with the Atlantic League (an independent league) on several experimental rules for the 2021 season. If you were the Commissioner (i.e., the president) of MLB and your goal is to make the game more exciting, would you support the following rule changes?
Q10a The distance between home plate and the pitching rubber will be moved back one foot to a distance of 61’6″, which would give hitters more time to react to pitches.
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 30% | 41% | 15% | 59% | 30% |
| No | 30% | 35% | 25% | 26% | 40% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 40% | 24% | 60% | 15% | 30% |
Q10b The designated hitter (DH) will no longer be available to a team once their starting pitcher leaves the game. This is intended to keep starting pitchers in the game longer and therefore favor the hitters. After the DH leaves, relief pitchers must bat, or be replaced by pinch hitters.
| N=1,563
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 28% | 41% | 12% | 59% | 31% |
| No | 24% | 28% | 19% | 26% | 29% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 48% | 31% | 69% | 15% | 40% |